Top 10 Terrifying Prehistoric Creatures That Actually Existed

Since first learning about dinosaurs and other frightening prehistoric creatures, one always stood out, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. This monstrous creature stuck in our minds for several reasons, but mostly because he was known as one of the most vicious carnivores to walk this land. Even his name celebrates its reputation for dominating the earth during its existence with Tyrannosaurus meaning tyrant lizard and Rex meaning king. It’s almost hard to imagine that there was ever a creature that was more dangerous or terrifying, but history was filled with giant monsters that can terrorize even a T Rex. Here is a list of ten prehistoric creatures that just might give you nightmares.

1. Titanoboa This ancient snake is the largest to have ever existed, comparable to the monster anaconda from the Jennifer Lopez movie. Fossils of this reptile have been found in Columbia, with the longest reaching 42 feet and weighed over 2,500 hundred pounds, the same weight of a grown giraffe. Researchers believed this creepy creature was dominantly piscivorous, which means it ate mostly fish. It lived during the Paleocene epoch, an era known for its tropical ecosystem when temperatures averaged 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) which allowed the cold-blooded snake to obtain its huge size. It came into existence right after the T Rex Era, which is may have been a good thing for the lizard king because scientists believe the Titanoboa would have easily crushed it to death.

2. Acrophyseter

This ancient relative is the reason sperm whales and its ancient relatives were nicknamed ‘killer sperm whales’. While the modern sperm whale has a diet consisting mainly of squid, its ancestor had a more diverse diet, feeding on other marine animals, including sharks. This is no small feat considering it lived in the Miocene period; a time when enormous dolphins and gigantic sharks ruled the seas, even the penguins and seals looked like oversized mutants straight out of a horror movie. Besides its large size, the Acrophyseter also had massive protruding teeth that helped them tear their prey to pieces. The shape of its jaws suggest that this killer fish probably surprised its prey and attacked from below. Fossils of this whale of a monster have been found in Peru.

3. Epicyon If you ever imagined what the biggest, strongest, most vicious dog would look like, this is the dog that would eat that dog. This large ancient relative of the canine lived for around 15 million years from the Hemingfordian era up until the Hemphillian age, roaming North America, and may have been the biggest prehistoric dog that ever existed. Fossils of the Epicyon suggest that the ancient canine grew up to 5 feet long and weighed between 200 to 300 pounds and had a large head with jaws so powerful it could crush bones like crackers. The unique shape of its head made it look more like a large cat than a canine. So far, three different species of the Epicyon have discovered, all in western Northern America.

4. Edestus Although it is a distant relative to the great white shark, the Edestes’ teeth were so large and terrifying, it makes the modern version of the shark look more like a goldfish. This ancient shark terrorized about the world’s oceans during the late Carboniferous age and grew up to 20 feet (6 m), the same size of its modern cousin. But unlike the great white, which loses its old worn out teeth to make room for new razor sharp teeth growing in rows behind it, the Edestus never lost its teeth; rather, new giant teeth would pushing the old teeth out, forcing the teeth and gums to protrude out of its mouth like a pair of crazy sharp scissors. Its odd shaped jaw and teeth could have been used to slice its prey in half.

5. Phorusrhacids These large carnivorous birds are more commonly known around the world as terror birds, and ruled South America and parts of North America during the Cenozoic era. Although they were unable to fly, they were the top predators during that era; that was before the big cats and other large carnivorous mammals took over. Standing at almost 10 feet (3.3 m) tall and weighed up to half a ton, scientist believe their long legs, which can be compared to the modern ostrich, helped them reach a speed of at least 45 kilometers per hour. They also had a large head that was equipped with a hooked bill that they used to hunt down and kill prey as big as a camel.

6. Purussaurus This giant ancestor of the caiman lived during the Miocene era in the area now known as the Amazonian rainforest. During his time, he was the top predator in the vast rainforest that covered Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. Its stout, robust head was packed with teeth and enormous jaws that gave it an estimated bite force of 69,000 N (7 metric tons-force) and a huge body that can reach 15 meters long. This made it easy for the Purussaurus to latch on to large prey. It is one of the biggest crocodilians to be discovered and survived on a diet intake of 90 lbs. a day. Remains of its prey bitten in half serves as evidence of this creatures strength and appetite.

7. Pulmonoscorpius Although it is the smallest creature on the list, seeing an ancient scorpion over one meter long would still terrify even the bravest men and women. It was much like its modern scorpion cousin, equipped with sharp claws and a large venomous stinger. They lived in an forested area now known as Scotland during the Carboniferous era, an age known for the higher oxygen content in the atmosphere, which helped dragonflies grow to the size of an eagle and ancient centipedes to grow up to three meters long. Scientist believe the large scorpion was a carnivore and used the venom from its massive tail to take down large arthropods, possible even amphibians. Its pinchers were small relative to the tail, leading researchers to believe they depended on its venom for protection and food.

8. Megalodon This humongous ancient shark is not only considered one of the most powerful predators in history, but also the largest marine predator to have existed. Scientist have studied fossils of this creature that measured up to 20 meters long and is believed to have weighed almost 60 tons, over five times as big as a T-Rex. The only prey large enough to satisfy a shark that size were whales, but they also ate dolphins and giant squids. When comparing the bite force of the modern Great White Shark, which can reach 1.8 tons, the Megalodon’s bite force is believed to be over ten times as powerful, easily crushing the skull of a large whale like a grape with its large serrated, heart-shaped teeth.

9. Spinosaurus This giant lizard, whose name means spine lizard, lived during the Cretaceous period in the North Africa area. They are considered to be the largest carnivorous dinosaurs to have ever lived, even larger than the T-Rex. This beast could grow up to 18 meters long and had a row of spikes on its back that were up to 6 feet long. Although it is considered the biggest predator to ever walk on land, scientist identified it as the first swimming dinosaur, spending a large amount of time in water feeding on fish, crocodiles and probably any other dinosaur it could sink its teeth into. The Spinosaurus had a long and narrow snout, resembling a crocodile, which helped it hunt and breathe while in the sea.

10. Gorgonopsid The last creature on the list wasn’t a giant lizard, but rather, a just as deadly mammal. Although at 6 meters long, they may have not have been as large as the dinosaurs that came after them, their bodies were built for domination. Their legs were positioned below their bodies, which gave them the agility and speed they needed to have an advantage over their prey, and also helped them escape larger predator. They also had two large saber-like canine teeth that was so big, they stuck out of its mouth and allowed them to tear into the tough skin of their prey, which could be as big as rhinos. They lived during the Permiam era with fossils being found in South Africa.  

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